An online lobby is a virtual meeting room where its users gather to engage in online activities such as gaming sessions and text-based chat sessions. In online gaming, a lobby is created in preparation for a gaming session. The creator of the lobby may designate the lobby as public or private. If the lobby is private only certain gamers are notified and can participate in the gaming session. If the lobby is public, garners can be notified by publishing the lobby name in a directory of active lobbies. Gamers are able to participate in a game by entering an active lobby. In some cases, gaming lobbies are short lived and cease to exist once a gaming session starts. When a gaming session ends, a gaming lobby may be automatically recreated and activated in preparation for a new gaming session.
In text-based chatting, a lobby is combined with a chat function such that users can initiate text chatting as soon as they enter the lobby. In many cases, Internet chat lobbies support text chatting but not other online activities.